Home Food Reviews Green Apple Burger vs Pineapple Burger

During a recent dim sum session, KC (rif’s colleague) suggested I do a showdown of food within the same category. I liked the idea, and decided to do a burger showdown. Now, before you roll your eyes and go “Again? Not another burger post??”…READ ON.

This is not just another Ramly burger face-off. I decided to go with the fruit theme, so this time around, it is the battle of the fruit burgers – GREEN APPLE BURGER vs PINEAPPLE BURGER.

Contender 1 – Ana’s Green Apple Burger

Manned by Ana and her husband Jack, this burger stall is located in the housing area of Taman Melawati, Ampang (behind Zoo Negara). While finding your way there may be a bit tricky (don’t worry, I have the GPS coordinates), it’s easy to spot Ana’s stall – it has fluorescent green lights. On average, they sell a minimum of 120 burgers a day, which I find pretty impressive considering their location. They are open for business from 5.30pm till 11.30 midnight, or until they are sold out. It’s best to call ahead to avoid disappointment.Jack is in charge of the grilling, while Ana assembles the burgers. While other burger makers take pride in their special seasoning, Jack believes the seasoning plays the supporting role, while the tastiness of the patty is what makes a burger outstanding. The patties are butterflied and placed on the hot grill. Then, a generous spread of mustard, dashes of Worchester sauce and shakes of black pepper are added for extra flavour. We opted for the kawen burger, which is a mix of beef patty and chicken patty between a grilled burger bun.(“Kawen” means married in Malay, and in burger context, it’s a “marriage of patties”.)Ana places some lettuce leave as a bed on top of the bun base, before topping it with finely sliced cabbage, onions and generous squeezes of chilli sauce, mayonnaise and black pepper sauce. She puts some Thousand Island dressing on the chicken patty before placing the beef patty on top, and finishes off with another squeeze of Thousand Island sauce and mayonnaise. Then, she takes some sliced green apples and places them on top of the patties and places the bun top over it. At that point, I questioned the width of my mouth and whether it could fit such a tall burger.The meat in the burger reminded me of the mattresses in “The Princess and the Pea.” All you see is meat, meat and meat, with hardly any vegetables in sight. However, you can feel (and taste) the vegetables beneath the patties, and the addition of apple slices add height to the already monstrous burger. I thought the meat patties and apple slices enhanced each other’s flavours nicely. I liked the addition of the Thousand Island dressing, as it accentuated the sweetness and the creaminess of the burger. The sourness of the green apple did a good job of cutting through the richness of the burger.According to Ana, they replaced cucumber and tomatoes with green apples, as they didn’t want the burger to be too soggy, especially with the triple sauce combo. This clever composition was both moist and magnificently filling. Despite the ample portion, it’s hard to stop at just one. I sure as hell didn’t! We ate our burgers in the car, and I realised the kawen version had no egg or cheese (my two favourite ingredients in a burger), so I decided to get the Ayam Special Cheese. The double chicken patties are wrapped with egg, and a slice of cheese is added inside, resulting in a gooey and meaty combination. While it was not bad, I liked the kawen better. When I was almost done with my second burger, Ana told me they also have Kawen Special Cheese. If only she said it earlier!!! I could not fit another burger into my stomach! 0_o Since there was no 7-11 in that area, Ana got her friend to buy me a bottle of coke. Thanks Ana! Once I was done, I was so full, I semi-waddled my way to the car. I ate ALMOST two burgers (rif had a big bite of my Ayam Special Cheese) within 30 minutes. *Burp*

Contender 2 – Faizal’s Pineapple Burger

Having started his burger business in Lucky Garden (Bangsar) about 3 months ago, Faizal already has a stream of loyal customers getting their Ramly burger fix. The minute he opens his stall at 6.30pm, the queue starts! I know that because I was one of them. He hadn’t even unpacked the burger ingredients from the icebox and the grill wasn’t hot enough, but people were already waiting; LIKE HAWKS. He mans the stall alone – grilling the patties and assembling the burgers. While waiting for my burger, I noticed his customers came from all walks of life. Some of them took a seat near the famous sup kambing stall, while others opted for takeaway.

I managed to squeeze in a chat with Faizal, and learnt that he was previously working in KL Hilton, but decided to venture into the burger business as it was supposedly more lucrative. According to him, he prefers using pineapple to apples, as apple slices tend to wither and brown when left for too long. “Pineapples are also sweeter than green apples, so it gives the burger an interesting twist of flavour,” he said. Clearly, his theory works in his favour. Rif and I placed an order for a Pineapple Ayam Special and watched as he prepared the burgers. Since he handles everything himself, you might need to wait a bit when the queue is long.The burger buns are buttered before they hit the grill, so they are crispy on the outside while remaining soft and light inside. His condiments are your usual suspects in a Ramly burger: lettuce, onion, cucumber slices and pineapple slices. Along with the pineapple slices, the double chicken patties are flavoured with his special seasoning, Worchester sauce and black pepper, and wrapped with egg. The egg-wrapped patty is then sandwiched between a combination of black pepper sauce, chilli sauce, mayonnaise, a slice of cheese, lettuce, onions and burger bun.When assembled together, the burger looked rather massive – which was great as I was pretty hungry that evening. It was sloppy, saucy and meaty. And as expected, after the first bite the burger started to collapse (in a good way), and sauces and juices dripped from the sides of my mouth and some down my chin. Soon after, bits of the pineapple and cucumber slices plopped out to join the sloppy mess. I took joy in licking the burger sauce off my fingers and side of my mouth, before using a tissue to properly wipe off the saucy residue.The sweetness of pineapple gave the burger a good balance of sweet and salty flavours, while the egg and cheese added a creamy texture to the burger contents. I reckon the pineapple made the burger juicier, and gave it more bite – pun intended. Very tropical, and kiwi-inspired. I was initially sceptical, as I could not imagine pineapples working well on a Ramly burger. Needless to say, I was happily proven wrong with every bite. It was hard to describe the chemistry of the flavours. Simply put, it was a good combination of interesting flavours, held together by the meatiness of the patty. My only gripe was that he placed the cheese outside the egg-wrapped patty; I like my cheese inside the egg wrap.This is one huge burger and only the truly hungry should attempt one. If you’re watching your weight, PLEASE…close this page, or better still, skip your diet plan and go get yourself a big juicy burger! Don’t bother about the calories each bite packs or how it will add inches to your hips, just eat it. I regretted not ordering another one, as despite the monstrous portion, I wanted more. But that would mean joining the queue all over again. And TRUST me, these people don’t order just one burger. 0_o

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VERDICT:


The burgers are both quite good, but what made the green apple burger fare slightly better is the crunchiness of the green apples and the juicy, flavourful patty.

Ana’s Green Apple Burger
Jalan L8
Taman Melawati
Phase 6A
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 017-2670924
(GPS Coordinates: N3 13.000 E101 45.622)

Faizal’s Pineapple Burger
Lorong Ara Kiri 3,
Lucky Garden,
59100, Bangsar
Tel: 010-2992946
(GPS Coordinates: N3.127757, E101.669251)

(I would like to thank one of my readers, David Ong, for recommending Faizal’s Pineapple Burger to me. I am always around the area for my butter chicken fix, but it didn’t occur to me to give his burger a try. I’m glad I did! Thank you rif, for taking me all the way to Ampang to look for the green apple burger and for your valuable input in this post.)

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25 comments

"Joe" who is constantly craving July 20, 2009 - 4:06 am

ohh lala..wats the nxt battle?

Reply
fatboybakes July 20, 2009 - 4:07 am

i'd have tot pineapple would be quite a good choice echerlly!! ooh, he's so nearby, must go try.

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thenomadGourmand July 20, 2009 - 4:13 am

ya lorrr!
Alws in Bangsar but nvr knew abt this one! We even went for the sup kambing n unka asked me if i wan to order burger and i said No!
aiyahh!!
I think i still prefer my apple one w sambal! ;)

Reply
thule a.k.a leo July 20, 2009 - 4:58 am

talking about burger… I just ate a Ramly burger bought from Uptown last Saturday night… so disappointed! The meat patty was hard and lack of flavours… but it's near my home whenever I need a burger fix in the middle of the night… now I wish that I live in Bangsar :P

Reply
IonBuck July 20, 2009 - 5:04 am

Wow, these are something new. Good work!

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Stanley July 20, 2009 - 7:07 am

Hmm….perhaps the pineapple will taste even better grilled/roasted like how they do it with pizzas.

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CUMI & CIKI July 20, 2009 - 7:39 am

cumi must read this.. he lks local burgers.. me – ayam a pizza and fried chicken gal;)

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Bangsar-bAbE July 20, 2009 - 8:23 am

Ciki – Hehehe…yes, get cumi to try them!

Stanley – Probably hor! Hmmm…I'll try to ask him to do that to mine next time…kekeke

IonBuck – Thanks!

leo – Errr…which one in Uptown? Brother John's burgers are normally good.

Next time you're in Bandar Utama, take a short drive to Bangsar and try lor! ;)

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Bangsar-bAbE July 20, 2009 - 8:26 am

nomad – Have to try both to compare, no? ;P

fatboybakes – If it's for ground beef patty, then using pineapple is nice. But with Ramly burger, I thought it would be otherwise. Lucky I was wrong!

Joe – That one must crack my head and think somemore! ;)

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superwilson July 20, 2009 - 10:06 am

No matter what the results, I will try both!

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@L July 20, 2009 - 12:02 pm

makes me drooling ….. i m sooo goin to try them both

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msihua July 20, 2009 - 12:30 pm

Oh wow.. the Apple Burger really sounds interesting.. I must try and attempt this, since there's no chance in hell that I will find myself in Ampang anytime soon…

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550ml jar of faith July 20, 2009 - 12:41 pm

Oh dear I don't think the verdict did me any favours! I am going on a burger RAMPAGE!!

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taufulou July 21, 2009 - 3:21 am

*gulp…
i m a big fan of ramlee and hardly find a nice 1 in kl, since this 2 stalls of unique taste and the way you describe it… haih..Must give it a try!if not 'dui bu chi' :D

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J2Kfm July 21, 2009 - 3:29 am

aiks, the pineapple burger very near to the Sarawak Laksa @ Nam Chuan loh? good good ….

thanks. interesting combined post on two burgers. though wonder how Faizal must have felt, at the losing end ….

(p/s : BangsarBabe, sorry for the tag thingie … will get to that after I recover from my post-vacation trauma …)

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Bangsar-bAbE July 21, 2009 - 6:04 am

J2Kfm – Yup! It's opposite the coffeeshop. I don't think he "lost", because for a newbie, he's pretty good already. ;)

*Looking forward to seeing the tag!

taufulou – Haha…lemme know if you like it.

550ml – Muahahahaha…enjoy!

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Bangsar-bAbE July 21, 2009 - 6:07 am

msihua – Since I put a "step-by-step" photo collage, it should be relatively easy! =)

@L – Om nom nom nom…

SuperWilson – Yes, don't just try one. They are both quite good! ;)

Reply
worldwindows July 21, 2009 - 6:18 am

Burger with fruits…I am not that adventurous!

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spanker July 21, 2009 - 1:37 pm

Are you the type of person who sits aside and watch the world go by? Or do you like the gutsy, the defiant and the fearless?!

Head on down to the nearest Burger King for the new delicious Beefacon Cheese Stacker and prepare to have your taste buds tantalized!
 
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Do you dare?

Reply
taufulou July 22, 2009 - 1:04 am

sounds like you got yourself a challenge from spanker..:) go for it..love to see a post from u on that..:D

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Bangsar-bAbE July 23, 2009 - 4:30 am

taufulou – Hehe…liddat must diet before I go for the challenge lor! You wanna join with me? =P

worldwindows – Not that scary, really! It's similar to the kiwiburger, which is popular in Australia.

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Alijoe July 24, 2009 - 1:28 am

Wow the apple burger looks very yummmmmy. Must try soon. Ty for dis blog.
But pineapple burger very common nowadays.

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Eda Gorgeous February 28, 2011 - 4:10 am

i wish to open my burger apple .but dun have a chance … :(

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The Author September 13, 2011 - 12:44 pm

only sour and tangy fruit are perfect with any burger…I like pineapple…u can get it everywhere like in gombak(Daily burger stall opposite sri gombak mcdonalds) and the crowd is hugh there…

apple burger quite new for me…but must try….

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Lan June 3, 2012 - 9:45 am

burger kukus brickfield must try at Jln Tun Sambanthan 1

Reply

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